No more than 3 districts for Schuylkill Co.
Each of the 203 Pennsylvania State Representatives serves about 60,000 constituents. With Schuylkill County’s population at just over 140,000, it is the belief of the members of Jefferson Grange #1384 that a redistricting map with our county split into three districts serves us best. We can take the reasoning straight from those who understand the impact of split districts best: the legislators who have previously spoken on the topic. In April 2020, local legislators and business leaders worked to keep Schuylkill County as one U.S. Congressional district, noting that the elected representative could be more effective and “can pay more attention to the needs of that constituency,” according to State Sen. Argall at the time. Rep. Twardzik (R-123) said the current plan would “cause major disruptions in our local culture as well as the representation of our residents if implemented,” and Rep. Kerwin (R-125) has called the redrawing of boundaries “aggressive.” Similarly, a redistricting plan for the State House that has only three representatives covering our county would direct their focus primarily on Schuylkill County issues and concerns. With our county split into four different districts, representatives will have a smaller percentage of their constituent base living in Schuylkill County, and issues unique to our communities and the needs of our county could be prioritized differently. We urge the commission to review the current proposal and work to draw district lines in a way that residents of Schuylkill County are group into no more than three districts.